# Don't leave your unlocked car running and then wonder why it gets stolen **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980 "2017-01-23T22:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/41 "2017-01-25T21:59:25Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Have you checked to see if their are any chainsaws hanging from a tree near the running car? I got it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/42 "2017-01-25T22:46:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > 30 _above?_ Like Zero Celsius? > > In Wisconsin, that’s not worth complaining about. > > Or losing a car over… It isn’t in Iowa either. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/43 "2017-01-26T02:58:08Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > How is this different from “Don’t wear sexually suggestive clothes and get intoxicated if you don’t want to get raped”? Shouldn’t the focus be on the behavior of the thief, not the thieved? Because there isn’t a tradition of thieves and murderers being considered lesser criminals if the victim made themselves an easy target. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/44 "2017-01-26T13:14:52Z")
If you’re lucky, they’ll just steal your car. If you’re unlucky, they’ll steal your car, run from the cops, and [kill a teenage girl](https://www.abqjournal.com/932638/apd-female-suspect-arrested-in-fatal-stolen-van-crash.html). ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/45 "2017-01-26T14:56:42Z")
If I wanted to steal a car I’d go to a daycare. Every day I see at least one car left running. It is often still there after I’ve dropped my boy off. So they’ve left it unattended for more than 5 minutes. Just turn off your car. It’ll warm up once you start driving. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/46 "2017-01-27T00:31:47Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > How is this different from “Don’t wear sexually suggestive clothes and get intoxicated if you don’t want to get raped”? Shouldn’t the focus be on the behavior of the thief, not the thieved? Wearing “sexually suggestive clothes” and “getting intoxicated” generally don’t cause rape. The whole idea that rapists attack someone because they’re horny and can’t control themselves is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/47 "2017-01-27T02:06:38Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > How do you know they’re not an idiot and have a remote starter? I leave my car running to keep it warm/cool when I’m just running in somewhere. It’s impossible for anyone to drive it away because the key is not in the ignition. Ahem [QUOTE=Barbarian] Yesterday I passed a car that had the car running and the door open. [/QUOTE] It’s not that hard to see keys dangling. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/48 "2017-01-30T01:07:45Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > Ahem > It’s not that hard to see keys dangling. While passing by in the split second you think you could see keys which are probably on the right side of the steering column? Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/49 "2017-02-07T23:09:23Z")
Updatte: The car was located and the perps arrested - two boys, aged 15 and 16, who live in an adjoining county (and state - we live on a border) and have done this many times before. :mad: :smack: They also got several on-camera speeding tickets and into at least one fender-bender while they had the car. I hope her son learned his lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/50 "2017-02-07T23:34:21Z")
I’ve seen worse stories. How about leaving your car running while your baby is sleeping in the carseat? > **[PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions](https://www.pressreader.com/canada/calgary-herald/20161118/281767038812667)** > > Digital newsstand featuring 7000+ of the world’s most popular newspapers & magazines. Enjoy unlimited reading on up to 5 devices with 7-day free trial. > **[National Post](https://nationalpost.com/category/news/)** > > Read the latest breaking news in Canada and the rest of the world. We bring all of today's top headlines and stories to your fingertips. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/51 "2017-02-07T23:41:03Z")
I feel weird leaving my car running and unattended. Then again, I live in Chicago. It’s not something I would dream of doing and it just feels environmentally wasteful to me, too. They do give citations out for it here, although I don’t know if they count remote starters or not. (ETA: Actually, poking around, it looks like autostart is not counted.) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/52 "2017-02-07T23:45:30Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > How is this different from “Don’t wear sexually suggestive clothes and get intoxicated if you don’t want to get raped”? Shouldn’t the focus be on the behavior of the thief, not the thieved? They’re two completely different things. One involves a direct assault on a person. The other requires nothing more than grabbing something and walking off. Please do not be so foolish as to conflate opportunity theft with sex crimes. You’re not helping. Geez, even the _I Ching_, several thousand years old, has a bit of advice on this sort of thing; Hexagram 25 Innocence; Line 3 _Undeserved Misfortune. The cow that was tethered by someone Is the Wanderer’s gain, the citizen’s loss._ ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/53 "2017-02-08T00:53:49Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > This is why I always install a remote starter on my vehicles. You can keep it running but without the key in it it’s impossible to drive. They make one for stick shift cars too. Yep. Me too. The only time I use it is in the winter to get the heat going. Why for pity’s sake would anyone leave the keys in a running car when they go in a shop? Not only I lock the car and take the keys, I set the brakes. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/54 "2017-02-08T01:04:31Z")
Oh yes I start my car in the morning and run it for 10-15 minutes to get the heat going. Don’t live in the City or anywhere close. Theft is not an issue. My Wife does the same thing. But we never do it in town. No point in it for us, car is already warm. My Wife’s Subaru does have a remote start. The way it works is that you start it remotely, but as soon as a door opens, it turns off, and will not start again unless you have the remote ‘keyless’ key. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/55 "2017-02-19T23:47:55Z")
Never steal a fire truck under any circumstances. > **[Utah woman steals idling firetruck, runs off after eight blocks](https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/utah-woman-steals-idling-firetruck-runs-off-after-eight-blocks/526-afca33b3-fb9e-4594-9217-612b4b182fc0)** > > Both Unified police officers and firefighters were amazed she was able to not only get the large vehicle moving, but drive it rather successfully. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/56 "2017-05-07T05:49:00Z")
Update: A number of arrests have been made, almost all of them juveniles, and I suspect that some of the more recent incidents have been copycats. :mad: Several days ago, a local news station attended the hearing of one of the arrestees. Because it involved a minor, recording devices of any kind were not allowed in the courtroom, but the reporter did say that the 13-year-old defendent had no parents or guardians there with him. ☹ That spoke volumes to me. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/57 "2017-05-08T18:08:50Z")
In the larger city near me, they have had a few incidents lately of morons leaving guns in their unlocked vehicles and having the guns stolen. The police are just baffled as to what to do to get people to lock their damn cars or, at least, remove the guns when leaving the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/58 "2017-05-08T18:42:04Z")
I read a LewRockwell article some time ago, can’t remember the author, he brought this up to illustrate how public opinion or perceptions change. In the 60s there was a public ad campaign centered around keys left in the ignition. Everybody did this, my dad never stopped and he would get pretty torqued if anybody took the keys out. The gist of the ad campaign was “Help keep a good kid from going bad.” Public outcry got the ads pulled, at the time. There does seem to be a fatalistic attitude at work here today, “what did you expect”, and that auto theft is somehow the fault of anyone but the thief, and nobody can be reasonably expected to resist the siren song of a car with the keys in it, or idling in below zero weather. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/59 "2017-05-08T18:49:55Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > Every time I see a car with the engine running I want to jump in and just take it down the block, just to mess with the idiot who left it running. I feel that temptation every time I see an unattended ambulance with the motor running. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980/60 "2017-05-08T19:32:42Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Wearing “sexually suggestive clothes” and “getting intoxicated” generally don’t cause rape. The whole idea that rapists attack someone because they’re horny and can’t control themselves is bullshit. So you think that this scenario never happens…? College party, girl gets drunk and passes out. Total douche guy sees a hot girl passed out and carries her into a bedroom where he has sex with her because he’s sure she’ll never know and he can get away with it. Guy does it because he’s horny and thinks there are no consequences for him. Girl wouldn’t have been raped if she was sober and alert (not that she’s to blame, she’s still the victim). This happens and the idea that every single rape is an angry act from someone who wants power over another and has nothing to do with lust is the BS part. It may not be the case most of the time but it is sometimes. I agree that a woman making herself vulnerable doesn’t “cause” the rape, the rapist is what causes it. But sometimes it’s an act of opportunity and it wouldn’t have happened without that opportunity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-leave-your-unlocked-car-running-and-then-wonder-why-it-gets-stolen/777980.md?page=4)